Closure operating means



P 1943- w. ODENTHAL 2,330,005

CLOSURE OPERATING MEANS Filed Dec. 27, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5s 59 l a g III I VV/L L /.4 M 005mm INVEMOR.

"v.9, ATTORNEY.

tice of sanitation should prevail.

Patented Sept. 21, 1943 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE H i 2,330,005 CLOSURE OPERATING MEANS William Odenthal, Los Angeles, Calif. ,Application December 27, 1940, Serial No. 371,914

13 Claims.

My invention in its broadest aspect relates to means for operating closures. w

More specifically the. invention maycbesaid to relate to hydraulically actuated mechanism for operating closures.

In viewing the many objects of the invention there stand out prominently among the leading ones, the following:

The provision of a means for operating closures in drive-in eating establishments where it is the custom of the public, if desired, to eat in are to be served without alighting. .For this reason the customers face the building and have abroad view of the deliveries to and from the building. 1 Y .Furthermore, the view must not be unsightly and should preferably be made as attractive as possible. The handling of garbage must be kept outof sight as the swarming of flies thereabout is obnoxious, and above all the spirit and prac- In order to provide for the many objects whereby to ofifset the difficulties resulting from the several disturbing elementsarising from the foregoing factors, the invention serves many useful of the dishes to their'respective automatic washers. The invention provides for a quick opening and closing oftheclosure.

Quickness of operation guards against-the entrance of the flies and cold, the escape of kitchen fumes; and the chance to obtain an interior View. One of the important objects of the invention is to provide an improved pump control unit.

Furtherimportfant objects include theprovision of ahimproved' footoperated pedal for controlling a shut-off valve preliminary to actuating an electric switch whereby means are put into operation to set in motion the fluid to operate the closure; the provision of means .to open the switch with the shut-ofi valve remaining passive;

automatic operated for the intended purpose and the foot pedal released. I 1* ,It is astill further object to simplify the construction by reducing and unitizin-g the number of parts to reduce costs, and-to, in general-improve upon the combinationiof elements whereby greater ease of operation is secured and less wear on parts and greater efiiciencyresultsli Still other objects, features; and advantages of invention will hereinafter. appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein is shown a preferred embodiment :of the invention as .now reduced to practice and appearinginthe trade, 1

my invention. i

the provision of the safety feature in by-passing -I Fig. 2 is a section'taken on line 2'-2:-'of.Fig. in a direction arrowindicated. a J I: 1 Fig. 3 is a "section taken on line 33 in adirection in which the arrows point in Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken'on line 4'-4"of Fig.3. -Fig. 5-is an enlarged cross sectionalview of Fig. 6 is a'pian view of the pump and fluid transfer unit broken y from "the" associated 'parts, e

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line I -1 "of Fig. 6. Fig; 8 is a section taken on line 88 of Fig: 6 with the shut-off valve shown'inthe inoperative position. I i l Fig. '9is a section taken on line 9'9"of Fig.6. Fig- 10 is a section taken on'line lfllfi of Fig/Spa portion of the liquid reservoir being shown'in 'sideelevation. l i 'Fig. ll-is an enlarged plan view'of ap'ortion of the pedal operated mechanism for closing the operating valve and 'mercurialswitch.

Speaking first of generalities,- the invention as shownin the'dr'awings, comprises in 'cqmbination a portionof a building ll having installed therein a closureconsistihgof two vertically disposed panels l3 and M operable {in opposite directions to close and unclosethe openings which they cover; fluid actuated means lit by "which the panel 13 is operated;"a reservoir'fifi for cont'ai ning a fluid; a fluid transfer unit lija pump I8for circulating thefluid from the reservoir as through the mud transfer to the fiuid a ctu ated means l5; anelectric motor l9 for operating the-pump 8; a mercurialswitchifl for closing an electric circuit whereby the motor is energized;' a combined shut-off and by-p'ass valve? i,- a pressure relief valve 22 contained in the" fluid transfer unit; and means 23ope'rableby the pedal 24 to close the shut-off valve 2! and in turn after a slight inert period simultaneously actuate said mercurial switch 20.

Adjacent the opening covered by the panel I3 is a service shelf 25 for supporting glasses, and adjacent the opening covered by the panel I4 is a service shelf 26 for supporting dishes. Onto these shelves the attendant unloads his tray after servicing the public.

Panel I4. is counterweighted to panel 13 'by means of cables '21. extending over pulleys 28 and through member 29 fastened to panel I3 so that when the panel 13 is elevated by the means IS,

the panel l4 automatically lowers; stops. 30, one.

of which is shown in .Fig. 1, being provided to limit the downward travel of panel; t4, and stops if necessary, the panels l3 and I4 may be manually operated by. hand.

Fluid actuating means l5 comprisesa vertically, reciprocating piston rod 34 working fluid tightiy in a cylinder 35. The outerend of said rod is connected to the panel 44 by means of a bracket 36 and the inner end. hasfastened to ita piston 31. Said. piston is actuated. in an upward direction to elevate the panel l3, and thereby automatically lower panel l4, bymeans of fluid admitted to the under side of. the. piston through the opening 38. in. the lower end of the cylinder 35. (in Fig. 3) which communicates with theconduit 39 connected to the. outer. end of th dis,- charge passage 49, shown in Fig. 9, in. the fluid transfer unit l1.

Passage 411. communicates with a lateral pas sage 4| leading to the discharge sideof-thepump I8. Passage 4.0 also communicates with a. restricted passage 42, and in. turn with av passager way. 43. Passage-way 43. communicatesv with a downwardly extending vertical passage 44 which intersects with the bottom passa e. 45, and the latter passageinturn connects with. a short passage 48. through which. theqfluidby-passes back tothemouth 41 of. marine 8, an the eto t reservoir lfiwhen effective workin pr ssurehas been reached. Said restricted passage is normally closed by means Qf-the ball valve. 22; and the. spr 9 opposes its, evenin unde normal working conditions.

The cycle of passages leading from the mouth 41;of. the reservoir litothe pump l8 .gcomprise thoseof short passage 46, and bottom passage 45 already mentioned, together with the-bottom lat;- eral passage 50 communicating. with passage 45 which opens into the inta ire. passage 5! leadin nt h p mp- The passages through which the fluid flows back to the reservoir from the cylinder .by gravity augmentedby the weight ofpanel I 3, once the pedal 24 is relieved ofmanufil-foot pressure, consists of the short passage 52 whichis a reduced continuation of passage M as seenin Fig. 7, saidpassage 52 leading into the vertical passage 53 which opens into the valve passage-way 54 wherein is contained the shut-01f valve Z I. Communicating with the latter passage-way 5.4 1s a restricted passage '55, there being a lateral passage'SGIopeningIintdthe passage 45, see Fig. 10., at apointadiacent the mouth 41 of the pipe 48.

Restricted passage 55, has formed at its intersection with passage 54, a valve seat. '51. wherea g ainstthe shut-oifvalve 2] rests when the foot pedal has been depressed, to prevent back passage of the fluid to. thereseryoir, after the pump has been put in operation. After the several passages have been drilled in the fluid transfer unit the several plugs shown are utilized to close their outer ends.

The pump it! is operatively related to the fluid transfer unit in the manner shown and may be any one of several types of conventional rotary pumps now on the market and need not be described here, since per se it is not considered to form a part of the present invention.

Pump 18 is operated by means. of 'a shaft 58, having a'liquid tight seal'in the stuffing box 59. Said shaft 58 is in turn connected to a flexible coupling 60, said coupling also being connected to a shaft 6|v which is operated by the motor I9 upon the latters actuation by the closing of the switch 20.

The mercurial switch 26 has its interior construction shown in Fig. 5, the casing 62 having extending through it a shaft 63 forming a portion of the switch operating means. In the casing is a cradle. 64 pivoted at 6'5 to operate from an inclined position in one directionto an inclined position in a different direction against the opposition of the spring 63 bymeans of an operating arm 61 having movable contact with anoperating collar 63 slidably mounted upon the shaft 63 between the said arm 67. and a compressible spring 69 coiled about the shaft. The end of said spring 69 opposite to said collar abuts against a stopcollar 'ldwhich normally restsagainst one end of the casing to limit the travel of theshaft 6.3. in onedirection. Stop collarH mounted on the, shaft 53 when engaged by the adjacent portion of the casing limits the travel of the. shaft 63in the opposite direction.

Th cradle. 64. supports thetube 12 containing the mercury 73- and wires 14 and i5. terminating in plug 16 have. their circuit completed to energize the motorin a well known manner whenthe mercury is shifted in the tube by rockingthe cradle as stated wherein the mercury closes the gap between theterminals of the twowires.

Shaft 63 has its. manually operable end con.- nected: to the pedal f lll which is pivotally mounted .upon the floor 1 1. i

The portion of the h ft Wh ehsextends through the wall of thecasing which is ODDOsite thepedal end hasmounted thereon stop collar 'IB'and between saidcollar l6 and the switchcasing 62 is coiled thereabout a compression spring 79. Beyond said collar 18 the shaft 63 extendswith a worlcingfit through a diaphragm which spans the open end of a clevis 8i fastened between the nuts 82 andlitf mounted upon the end of the shutoff valve stem 84. Upon the end of the shaft 63 which extendsthrough the diaphragm into the clevis is screwed-a nut Biand coiied about; the shaft '63. ;between said-nut and said diaphragm is aspiral compressionspring 85. $tem 84 has a fluid tight working fit-through the packing gland 81 and plug 83 Whichcloses the .outerend of the passage '55. stem 84 is constructed of lesser diameter. than passage 55 in order, for, the fluid to by-pass. therearound in its passageback into the reservoir I 6 when the shut-off valve is in the open position shown.

Thecombined shut-off'valve and switch actuating mechanism just described is designed in the manner set forth to attain the following results. l

Inorder to prevent the liquid being-by-passed in an inoperative mannen'it is necessary to close the shut-off valve. 21. before theimotor is started nd e pum ar unc o ing. Therefore t e t-fi e-pe i dwe lay. r n the interim the shut-off valve is moved from the inoperative position shown in Fig. 8 to the closed position in which the motor will remain inert. Furthermore it is desired to have as littlestress as possible applied to the valve to prevent wear and leak on account of the innumerable times it 85 has travelled to the dotted position the shutofi valve 2| has beenproperly closed. During this interval, however, spring 19 has remained inert but spring 69 has been functioning slightly due to the travel of the shaft and the slight pressure exerted against the collar 68 has started to untilt the mercury tube against the opposition of the spring 66. Continued pressure on the foot pedal in turn compresses spring 19 to store up energy to return the shaft 63 into a kissing position with the stem 84 as shown in Fig. 11 in full lines. When the stop collar H has, reached the limit of itstravel the terminals of the wires M and 15 will have been closed and the fluid pumped to the cylinder to open the panels. In order to save Wear on the ball 22 when full pressure has been allowed to open the panels, instead of permitting the fluid to by-pass past it, the foot pressure may be slightly eased and the motorstopped without further pumping while the attendant is unloading his tray onto the of liquid, 2. liquid transfer unit comprising a,

casting 'underlying said reservoir, there being a vertical passage leading downwardly from said reservoir into said casting, a lower horizontal passage leading from said casting and having a connection with a transversely extending channel communicating with the lower, end of said vertical passage, one end of said lower passage being constructed with a channel of less diameter than the portion at its opposite end, thereby. forming at the juncture of said channels an annular shoulder providing a valve seat, a shut-off valve provided with a stem; said valve normally occupying an open position in said lower passages greater diameter channel, being of less diameter than the latterchannel, and at times movable into registry with said seat; said stem.

passage communicating with the lower passages greater diameter channel, two;vertically.,spaced horizontally. extending passagewaysin said casting in a horizontally j spaced parallelrelationato saidlower passage, the uppermost of saidpassageways being constructed with channels .of unlike diameters each merging into the other, thereby providing at their juncture; a-pressure relief valve seatgthe lowermost of said vertically spacedv passageways communicating with said transverse channel, a vertical passageway placing said uppermost passageway in-communication with said lowermost passageway, two-vertically spaced passageways; the uppermost'bf extending beyond the end portion of the lower the latter passageways extendingxata right angle to and communicating with the uppermostofithe first recited vertically, spaced passagewaysjsaid second recited vertical passage, and the discharge end of ,a pump; the lowermost of the secondrecited vertically spaced passageways extending at a right/angle to and communicating with the lowermost of the first recited vertically spaced passageways, and the intake end of said pump; a conduit'communicating with saidpump discharge passageway, and a pressure relief valve operativeiy related to said pressure relief I valve seat'and controlling communication between-the third recitedyertical' passage and thepu mps discharge passage. i

2. The subject matter of claim l'and, said pressure relief, means remaining passive during the period said shut-ofi valve is closed-until' a predetermined fluid pressure has beenreached .in said conduit, said pressure relief meansbeing automatically eiiective to maintain suchpredetermined'fluidpressure constant by allowing an idle recirculation of the fluid through the pump when'the fiuid pressure exceeds the predeterminedamount. a

' reservoir into said casting, a lower'horizontal passage: leading from said casting and having a connection with a transversely extending channel communicating with the lower end of said vertical passage, one end of said lower passage being constructed with a channel of less diam"- eter than the portion at' its opposite end, thereby forming at the juncture of said channels an annular. shoulder providing a valve seat, a shutoff valve provided'with a stem {said valve normally'occupying an open position-in said lower passagesgreater'diameter channel, beingof less diameter'than the latter channel; and attimes movable into registry with said seat; said stem extending fluidly" tightly beyond the end portion of the lower passages smaller diameter channel, and' being of less diameter than the latter channel, a vertical passagecommunicatlngwith the lower passages greater diameter channel, two vertically spaced horizontally extending passage ways in. said casting in a horizontally spaced relation to said lower-passage, the uppermosto'f saidpassageways beingconstructed with channels of unlike diameters each merging intothe other, thereby providing at' their juncture a pressure relief valve seat, the lowermostof said vertically spaced passageways communicating with said transverse channel a vertical passage Way placing said uppermost;v passageway in? com munication with said lowermost passageway, two

vertically spaced passageways; the uppermost of the latter passageways extending at a right angle to and communicating with-the uppermost of the first recited vertically spaced passageways, said second recited vertical passage, and the discharge end of a pump; the lowermost of the second recited vertically spaced passageways extending at a right angle to and communicating with the lowermost of the first recited vertically spaced passageways, and the intake end of said pump; a conduit communicating with said pump discharge passageway, and a pressure relief valve operatively related to said pressure relief valve seat and controlling communication between the third recited vertical passage and the pmnps discharge passage. a

4. The subject matter of claim 3 and, a plug screwed into the end of said lower passages greater diameter channel.

5. The subject matter of claim 3 and, said pressure relief means remaining passive during the period said shut-off valve is closed until a predetermined pressure has been reached in said conduit, whereupon. said pressure relief means automatically opens to allow an idle recirculation of the fluid through the pump and thereby maintain said predetermined pressure constant.

6., In a closure operating mechanism of the kind described, a reservoir for containing abody of liquid, a liquid transfer unit comprising a casting underlying said reservoir, there being a passage leading downwardly from said reservoir into said casting, a pump having an intake and a discharge passage, an intake passageway in said transfer unit placing said pump intake passage in communication with said reservoir, a.

discharge passageway in said transfer unit placing said pump discharge passage in communication with said reservoir, a pressure-relief valve controlled by-pass passageway in said transfer unit placing said pump discharge passage in communication with said intake passage of the pump and said intake passageway'of the'transfer unit, a conduit communicating with said discharge passage of the pump and said discharge passageway of: the transfer unit, a normally open combined shut-off and by-pass valve mounted in said discharge passageway'of the transfer unit, a pressure relief valve mounted in said pressure relief valve controlled passageway, said pressure relief valve remaining passive during the period said shut-off valve is-closed until a predetermined fluid pressurehas been reached in said conduit, said pressure relief valve being automatically effective to maintain such predetermined fluid pressure constant by allowing an idle recirculationof the fluid through the pump when'the'fluid pressure exceeds the predetermined amount; and means connected to saidcombinedshut-ofl and by-pass valve to selectively operate. the latter valve whereby to throttle the liquid Icy-passing it to said reservoir to diminish at will'the built up pressure in said conduit.

7. A reservoir, a liquid transfer unit comprising a casting connected by means of a conduit to said reservoir, a pump having anintake and a discharge passage, an intake passageway in said transfer unit placing saidipump'intake passage in communication with saidxreservoir, a discharge passageway in said transfer unit placing said pump discharge passage in communication with said-reservoir, a pressure-relief valve controlled by-passpassageway in said" transfer unit placing saidpump dischargev passage in communication with said intake passage ofthe pump and said intake passageway'of the transfer unit, a conduit communicating with the discharge passage of the pump, a'normally open combined shut-off and by-pass valve mounted in said discharge passageway of the transfer unit, a pressure relief valve mounted in said pressure relief valve controlled passageway and opening at 'a predetermined liquid pressure to allow an idle recirculation of the liquid through the pump when the liquid pressure exceeds the predetermined amount, and means connected to said combined shut-off and by-pass valve to selectively operate the latter valve whereby to throttle the liquid bypassing it to said reservoir to diminish at will the built up pressure in said conduit.

BIThe subject matter of claim 1 and, said pressure relief means remaining passive during the period said shut-off valve is closed until a predetermined fluid pressure has been reached in said conduit, said pressure relief means being automatically effective to maintain such predetermined fluid pressure constant by allowing an idle recirculation of the fluid through the pump, and means connected to said stem of said shutoil? valve to selectively operate the latter valve.

9. The subject matter of claim 1 and, means connected to said stem of said shut-01f valve to operate selectively the'latter valve.

10. The subject matter of claim 3 and, a plug screwed into the end of said vertical passage which communicates with the lower passages greater diameter channel.

11. The subject matter of claim 3 and, means connected to said stem of said shut-off valve to selectively operate the latter valve.

12. In a closure operating mechanism of the kind described, a reservoir for containing a body of liquid, a liquid transfer unit comprising a casting underlying said reservoir, a conduit leadingdownwardly from said reservoir and communicating with a short horizontal passage in said casting, a pump having an intake and-a discharge passage, an intake passageway in said transfer unit placing said pump intake passage inconstant communication with said short horizontal passage, two dual'valve controlled'discharge passagewaysin said transfer unit placing said pump discharge passage in common communication with both said short hori'zontal'passage and said pump intake passage, a conduit communicating with said .pumpdischarge passage and sa'id'two dual valve controlled discharge passageways, a normally open, combined shut-off and bypass valve'mountedin one of said two'dualvalve controlled discharge passageways and selectively operable to close communication between said pump discharge passage andsaid reservoir, and a pressurerelief valve mounted in the other of said two dual valve controlled discharge passageways.

l3. The'subject matter of claim 12 and, said pressure relief valve remaining passive during the period said-shut-oii and by-pass valve is closed until a predetermined fluid pressure hasbeen reached in said conduit. said pressure relief valve being automatically effective to maintain such predetermined fluid pressure'constant by allowing an idle recirculation-of the fluid throughthe pump when the fluid pressureexce'eds the predetermined amount, and means connected 'to' said shut-off valve to-throttle the fluid passin'g'it.

WILLIAM ODENTHAL. 

